Compact reflector fluorescent lamp with good heat dispersion

ABSTRACT

A compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion comprises a lamp cap, a lamp tube, an electronic ballast assembly, a circuit board, a housing and an intermediate plate, a reflection cup, and a transparent plate, wherein the intermediate plate and the housing, the intermediate plate and the circuit board, and the intermediate plate and the reflection cup are tightly assembled together by a snap-fit or coupling mechanism. The reflection cup is made of a material of aluminum alloy and connected to the lower surface of the intermediate plate and arranged independently at underside of the housing; wherein its internal surface has a high degree of fineness by means of polishing or chemical treatment, and its external surface has a high degree of roughness by means of frosted finishing thereby allowing the radiation heat generated through the body of the reflection cup to the external surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp, and more particularly to a compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At the present day, an existing reflector fluorescent lamp unit is configured by adopting an energy saving lamp tube around which a conical glass reflection shield is mounted. Such a unit makes use of the convergent action of the glass reflection shield to achieve the object of orientated illumination. Though the unit can solve the problem of poor optical efficiency of a conventional energy saving lamp, it suffers from the poor heat dispersion as the reflection shield generally made of glass and the electronic ballast are both mounted in the housing of the energy saving lamp such that the radiation heat of the lamp tube cannot sufficiently emitted to outside, which seriously endangers the lifespan of the circuit board mounted inside the energy saving lamp, while the reflection shield of such energy saving lamp is prone to damage while in use and in the process of transportation.

In the Chinese Utility Model Patent CN2670742 (application number 200320100262.2) titled “Compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit” filed by the same applicant of the present invention, a metallic reflection cup and a plastic casing specifically designed for enhancing the optical efficiency and minimizing the volume thereof are disclosed, wherein the plastic casing integrates with the lamp tube, reflection cup, electronic ballast assembly and lamp base, thereby forming a closely packed and properly assembled compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit in the form of a reflector lamp. While the heat dispersion of the unit is not sufficiently ideal, it is incorporated herein in its integrity for reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to overcome the defects of the foregoing prior art by providing a compact reflector fluorescent lamp having a better configuration and heat dispersion.

The technical solution for achieving the above object is a compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion, comprising a lamp cap, a lamp tube, an electronic ballast assembly connected with the lamp cap and the lamp tube, a circuit board, a housing and an intermediate plate for enclosing the electronic ballast assembly and the circuit board, a reflection cup, and a transparent plate mounted on an open end of the reflection cup; wherein

-   -   the electronic ballast assembly is mounted on the circuit board         via fastenings, and then both of which are jointly mounted in         the housing;     -   the circuit board is provided with a plurality of insertion         holes, each of which is formed by riveting in a hollow rivet         made of a conducting material;     -   the housing is provided with a mounting hole arranged at its top         surface for mounting the lamp cap, an annular recess arranged on         an inner circumferential wall at its bottom, and a plurality of         snap-fit members arranged above and against the annular recess;     -   the intermediate plate consists of a base plate and an annular         boss extended upwardly and circumferentially from inside of         periphery of the base plate, on an upper surface of which a         plurality of electrical connection pins corresponding to the         insertion holes of the circuit board are arranged, and on a         lower surface of which at least two protrusions and a hollow         protrusion nearby the at least two protrusions are arranged; and         a plurality of snap-fit legs corresponding to the snap-fit         members of the housing are arranged between the annular boss and         the periphery of the base plate; wherein the electrical         connection pins of the intermediate plate are plugged into the         insertion holes of the circuit board, the snap-fit legs are         coupled with the snap-fit members of the housing, and the         annular boss are engaged with the annular recess of the housing         whereby enabling them to be closely coupled and relatively         fixed; and     -   the reflection cup is a cavity in which the lamp tube can be         received, wherein its top surface is provided with a plurality         of assembly holes corresponding to the number of protrusions of         the intermediate plate, and an opening arranged at one side of         the assembly holes; and the reflection cup is fixed at the lower         surface by virtue of the respective coupling of the assembly         holes and the opening with the protrusions and the hollow         protrusion of the intermediate plate.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of the insertion holes of the circuit board, the connection pins of the intermediate plate, the snap-fit members of the housing, and the snap-fit legs of the intermediate plate is four respectively.

Preferably, the housing might be devised to be a step sleeve. More preferably, the housing might be composed of two to five overlapped step-tiers, wherein the annular recess is arranged at bottom part of the lowest step-tier, and a plurality of positioning ribs are arranged on an inner circumferential wall at upper part of the lowest step-tier for matching with peripheral edge of the circuit board. Optimally, the housing might be composed of three overlapped step-tiers, wherein the lowest step-tier is in a trumpet shape, and above which two cylindrical shaped step-tiers are arranged, wherein their diameter is decreased stepwisely with respect to the lowest step-tier. Generally, the housing is made of plastic material.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, two protrusions in axial symmetry are arranged on the lower surface of the intermediate plate, while two assembly holes in axial symmetry and corresponding to the two protrusions are arranged on the top surface of the reflection cup.

The reflection cup of the present invention is generally made of metal, such as an aluminum alloy, while its internal surface has a high degree of fineness by means of polishing or chemical treatment and its external surface has a high degree of roughness by means of frosted finishing. Preferably, a circular recess might be arranged on an inner wall of the bottom of the reflection cup, a circular boss matching with the circular recess might be arranged at periphery of the transparent plate and by which and/or by adhesive the transparent plate can be held in the circular recess of the reflection cup, and top edge of the reflection cup might be in tight coupling with the bottom of the housing by adhesive.

The lamp cap of the present invention can be a two-pin type lamp cap and/or a screwed type lamp cap, which is mounted on the top surface of the housing or the mounting hole on its top surface; wherein the lamp tube might be mounted within the reflection cap and can be selectively a 2SL type, 2WL type, or 4SL type compact fluorescent lamp tube. According to an embodiment, the foot of the lamp tube is inserted into the electrical connection pin of the intermediate plate, and the foot of the lamp tube is snap-fitted into the hollow protrusion of the intermediate plate and held therein by adhesive.

In can be thus seen that the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion of the present invention employs mainly a snap-fit or coupling mechanism and an auxiliary method of adhesive for the connections respectively between the intermediate plate and the circuit board, the intermediate plate and the housing, the intermediate plate and the reflection cup, and the reflection cup and the transparent plate thereby enabling the structural components thereof to be properly arranged and tightly coupled. In this way, the assembling of the housing, intermediate plate and the reflection cup will thus be very convenient and reliable. Further, the reflection cup is connected to the lower surface of the intermediate plate, which means it is arranged independently at underside of the housing, while it is made of metal materials such as an aluminum alloy; and wherein its internal surface has a high degree of fineness by means of polishing or chemical treatment to facilitate the reflection of light, and its external surface has a high degree of roughness by means of frosted finishing thereby allowing the radiation heat generated by the lamp tube in operation to be conducted through the body of the reflection cup to and the enlarged external rough surface for better heat dispersion such that the heat can be effectively dissipated by the reflection cup. The compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit of the present invention has several advantages over the conventional reflector fluorescent lamp in that it is compact in appearance, small in volume, good in heat dispersion, long in lifespan and hard to broken.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described further by way of example with reference to the accompany drawings for easier understanding of these and other features of the present invention while the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth hereinafter, wherein:

FIG. 1 a is the front view of a preferred embodiment of a compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion of the present invention;

FIG. 1 b is the sectional view of the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit illustrated in FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 2 is the perspective view of the housing of the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b;

FIG. 3 a is the front view of the housing illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 b is the elevated view of the housing illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is the plan view of the circuit board of the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b;

FIG. 5 a is the perspective view of the intermediate plate of the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, which illustrates the structural arrangement of the intermediate plate viewed from above;

FIG. 5 b is the perspective view of the intermediate plate of the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, which illustrates the structural arrangement of the intermediate plate viewed from below;

FIG. 6 is the perspective view of the reflection cup of the compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit illustrated in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b; and

FIG. 7 is the front view of the reflection cup illustrated in FIG. 6;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of a compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion of the present invention, comprising a lamp cap 10, an electronic ballast assembly 20, a housing 30, a circuit board 40, an intermediate plate 50, a reflection cup 60, a lamp tube 70, and a transparent plate 80; wherein the lamp cap 10 might adopts a two-pin type lamp cap and/or a screwed type lamp cap; in the present embodiment, a two-pin type lamp cap having two conducting contact protrusions such as a GU10 lamp cap is used as the lamp cap.

The electronic ballast assembly 20 is a conventional ballast which can be used with lamp tubes of various standards and model numbers. The input end of the electronic ballast assembly 20 might be connected to the conducting contact protrusions of the lamp cap 10 via conductors while its output end can be connected to the lamp tube 70.

Please refer to FIGS. 2, 3 a and 3 b, wherein the housing 30 made of plastic is a step sleeve in which the ballast can be arranged. The housing 30 is provided with a mounting hole 301 arranged at its top surface for mounting the lamp cap, an annular recess 302 is arranged on an inner circumferential wall at its bottom, and four protruded snap-fit members 303-306 arranged on the inner circumferential wall are evenly distributed above and against the annular recess 302; To be specific, the housing 30 is composed of three overlapped step-tiers 307-309, wherein the lowest step-tier 307 is in a trumpet shape, and above which two cylindrical shaped step-tiers 308, 309 are arranged, wherein their diameter is decreased stepwisely with respect to the lowest step-tier 307. The annular recess 302 is arranged at lower part of the lowest step-tier 307, and three inwardly protruded positioning ribs 310-312 are arranged on inner circumferential wall at upper part of the lowest step-tier 307.

On the circuit board 40 four apertures are provided in each of which a hollow rivet made of a conducting material can be arranged to form four insertion holes 401-404 for electrical connection, as shown in FIG. 4. In this way, the electronic ballast assembly 20 can be mounted on the circuit board 40 via fastenings or other coupling arrangements. After assembling, they are jointly mounted into the housing 30, while peripheral edge of the circuit board 40 is matched up to the positioning ribs 310-312 of the housing whereby the circuit board 40 can be held within the housing 30.

Please refer to FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, the intermediate plate 50 can be made into various shape, for example, it can be in the form of a circular disc or assuming a disk shape. The intermediate plate consists of a base plate 501 and an integrated annular boss 502 extended upwardly and circumferentially from inside of periphery of the base plate. A number of electrical connection pins 503-506 are arranged on an upper surface of the intermediate plate 50, wherein the number is corresponding to that of the insertion holes 401-404 of the circuit board, which is four according to the embodiment (see FIG. 5 a); and on a lower surface of the intermediate plate two protrusions 507, 508 in axial symmetry and a hollow protrusion 509 on one side of the two protrusions 507, 508 are arranged, wherein the hollow protrusion has a bore corresponding to the foot of the lamp tube; and a plurality of snap-fit legs, namely four snap-fit legs 510-513 according to the present embodiment, which correspond to the snap-fit members 303-306 of the housing are evenly distributed on outer wall between the annular boss 502 and the periphery of the base plate. When the intermediate plate is mounted in the housing 30 and below the circuit board 40, each of the electrical connection pins 503-506 can be plugged into the respective insertion holes 401-404 of the circuit board 40, such that they not only form a electric coupling, i.e. the coupling between the lamp tube 70 and the output end of the electronic ballast assembly 20, but also a coupling which enables the circuit board to be fixed firmly on the intermediate plate. In addition, the snap-fit legs 510-513 of the intermediate plate are coupled with the snap-fit members 303-306 of the housing 30, and the annular boss 502 of the intermediate plate are engaged with the annular recess 302 of the housing 30, whereby enabling them to be closely coupled and relatively fixed and also allowing the electronic ballast assembly 20 to be firmly held in the housing 30 by means of the tight coupling between the intermediate plate and the housing, and the bottom end of the housing can thus be sealed.

Please refer to FIGS. 6 and 7, the reflection cup 60 is a cavity in which the lamp tube can be received, wherein its size and shape can be varied according to the lamp tube in use. The top surface of the reflection cup is provided with two assembly holes 601, 602 in axial symmetry and an opening 603 arranged at one side of the assembly holes 601, 602, wherein the opening 603 is similar to the hollow protrusion 509 of the intermediate plate in that its size and shape can be varied according to the shape and position of the corresponding lamp tube. A circular recess 604 is arranged on an inner wall at the bottom of the reflection cup. The reflection cup is fixed at the lower surface of the intermediate plate 50 by virtue of the respective coupling of the assembly holes 601, 602 and the opening 603 with the protrusions 507, 508 and the hollow protrusion 509 of the intermediate plate. If necessary, they can be further fixed together firmly by means of adhesive, for example, the top edge of the reflection cup and the bottom of the housing can be tightly coupled by adhesive. Preferably, the reflection cup is made of metal such as aluminum alloy materials and the like, wherein aluminum alloy is a preferred material. The internal surface of the reflection cup has a high degree of fineness by means of polishing or chemical treatment to facilitate the reflection of light, while its external surface has a high degree of roughness by means of frosted finishing to enlarge the area for dissipation of the radiation heat whereby enhancing the heat dispersion of the lamp unit.

The lamp tube 70 might adopt any kinds of compact fluorescent lamp tube, wherein the preferred one can be selectively a 2SL type, 2WL type, or 4SL type compact fluorescent tube. In the present embodiment, a 2SL2U type lamp tube is employed. There are four feet at both ends of the lamp tube 70, and the feet of the lamp tube are generally connected to the output end of the electronic ballast. In this way, the lamp tube can be snap-fitted into the corresponding bore of the hollow protrusion 509 of the base plate and held therein by adhesive, while the four feet of the lamp tube is respectively coupled with the electrical connection pins 503-506 of the intermediate plate 50.

At periphery of the transparent plate 80 a circular boss is provided by which the transparent plate can be received in the circular recess 604 of the reflection cup 60 and held therein by adhesive.

From the configuration set forth hereinbefore, it can be seen that a snap-fit or coupling mechanism is provided respectively between the intermediate plate and the housing, the intermediate plate and the circuit board, the intermediate plate and the reflection cup, and the reflection cup and the transparent plate, thereby allowing the reflection cup, the intermediate plate and the housing to be easily, reasonably, tightly and reliably assembled together. Further, the reflection cup is made of aluminum alloy which facilitates the convergence of light rays for achieving a light beam with relatively small diameter and high intensity at its center. Further, the external surface has a high degree of roughness by means of frosted finishing thereby allowing the radiation heat can be effectively conducted and dissipated by the reflection cup, such that the present invention possess the features of high in optical efficiency, compact in size, good in heat dispersion and strong in structure.

In summing up, the description presented hereinbefore relates to merely some of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be appreciated that the technical solutions obtained by the skilled person in the art via corresponding changes on the basis of the prior art with reference to the teachings of the present invention shall all fall into the scope of the claims of the present invention. 

1. A compact reflector fluorescent lamp unit with good heat dispersion, comprising a lamp cap, a lamp tube, an electronic ballast assembly connected with the lamp cap and the lamp tube, a circuit board, a housing and an intermediate plate for enclosing the electronic ballast assembly and the circuit board, a reflection cup, and a transparent plate mounted on an open end of the reflection cup; characterized in that, the electronic ballast assembly is mounted on the circuit board via fastenings, both of which are installed in the housing; a plurality of insertion holes, in which the hollow rivets made of a conducting material are riveted, is provided on the circuit board; mounting holes are arranged at the top surface of the housing for mounting the lamp cap, an annular recess is arranged on an inner circumferential wall at the bottom of the housing, and a plurality of snap-fit members is arranged on the inner circumferential wall close to the annular recess; the intermediate plate consists of an annular boss protruded upwardly from inside of periphery of the base plate and a base plate on an upper surface of which a plurality of electrical connection pins corresponding to the insertion holes of the circuit board are arranged, and on a lower surface of which at least two protrusions and a hollow protrusion located on one side of the at least two protrusions are arranged; and a plurality of snap-fit legs corresponding to the snap-fit members of the housing are arranged from the periphery of the base plate to the outside of the annular boss; wherein the electrical connection pins of the intermediate plate are plugged into the insertion holes of the circuit board, the snap-fit legs are coupled with the snap-fit members of the housing, and the annular boss are engaged with the annular recess of the housing whereby enabling them to be closely coupled and relatively fixed; and the reflection cup has a cavity in which the lamp tube can be received, on the top surface of which a plurality of assembly holes corresponding to the at least two protrusions of the intermediate plate and a notch located at one side of the assembly holes are arranged; and the reflection cup is fixed at the lower surface of the intermediate plate by means of the snap-fitting the assembly holes and the notch as well as the protrusions and the hollow protrusion of the intermediate plate together.
 2. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the number of the insertion holes of the circuit board, the connection pins of the intermediate plate, the snap-fit members of the housing, and the snap-fit legs of the intermediate plate is four, respectively.
 3. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the housing is in the form of a step sleeve.
 4. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 3, wherein the housing includes two to five overlapped step-tiers, wherein the annular recess is arranged at lower part of the lowest step-tier, and a plurality of positioning ribs are arranged on an inner circumferential wall of upper part of the lowest step-tier, whereby matching with peripheral edge of the circuit board.
 5. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 4, wherein the housing includes three overlapped step-tiers, wherein the lowest step-tier is in a trumpet shape, above which two cylindrical shaped step-tiers are arranged, wherein their diameters are decreased stepwisely with respect to the lowest step-tier.
 6. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the housing is made of plastic material.
 7. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein on the lower surface of the intermediate plate two protrusions in axial symmetry are arranged, while two assembly holes in axial symmetry and corresponding to the two protrusions are arranged on the top surface of the reflection cup.
 8. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the reflection cup is made of metal, while its internal surface has a high degree of fineness by means of polishing or chemical treatment and its external surface has a high degree of roughness by means of frosted finishing.
 9. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 8, wherein the reflection cup is made of an aluminum alloy.
 10. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein a circular recess is arranged at the bottom of an inner wall of the reflection cup, and a circular boss matching with the circular recess is arranged at periphery of the transparent plate, by which the transparent plate is embedded in the circular recess of the reflection cup, and top edge of the reflection cup is in tight coupling with the bottom of the housing.
 11. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 10, wherein the circular boss of the transparent plate and the circular recess of the reflection cup is further engaged in an adhesive manner, while the top edge of the reflection cup and the bottom of the housing is also tightly coupled by adhesive.
 12. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the lamp cap is a bipost type or screw type one, which is mounted on the top surface of the housing or the mounting holes on the top surface.
 13. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the lamp tube is mounted within the reflection cap and can be selectively a 2SL type, 2WL type, or 4SL type compact fluorescent lamp tube.
 14. A reflector fluorescent lamp unit of claim 1, wherein the lamp tube can be snap-fitted in the hollow protrusions of intermediate plate by inserting the leg of lamp tube into its electrical connection pins and fixed therein by means of an adhesive. 